TIRANA, March 27, 2023 – In what the media and authorities are calling “a terrorist act,” unidentified gunmen used automatic weapons to shoot at the headquarters of one of Albania’s largest private television stations, Top Channel, shortly after midnight on Monday, killing a security guard on duty.
The attack on what has been over the years the most watched private television station in Albania has drawn wide condemnation domestically and internationally.
Police set up checkpoints and an investigation group immediately after the event, but the circumstances, perpetrators and possible motives of the attack remain unclear.
Top Channel TV reported that the security guard, Pal Kola, lost his life after being shot.
According to media reports, a burned vehicle with stolen license plates, which is suspected to belong to the perpetrators, was found on a highway approximately 30 kilometers from the scene.
All of Albania’s highest political leaders issued statements condemning the attack and seeking a full investigation — including the president, prime minister, speaker of parliament and all the main opposition leaders.
The interior minister said law enforcement authorities are working hard to find the perpetrators.
Demanding a swift investigation, condemnation also came from all key international representatives in Albania as well as international freedom of the press groups.
The Association of Professional Journalists of Albania and the League of Journalists of Albania strongly condemned what they described as a “terrorist attack with weapons” against Top Channel television, while they called on law enforcement agencies for investigations “as soon as possible and transparent about this shocking event for the whole community of journalists.”
The statement by the two organizations added: “This very serious event, where the safety of the media is called into question, only aggravates the difficult climate in which journalists are working in Albania.”
